Parliamentary panel visits ISRO centres in Kerala capital

Thursday, Nov 6, 2014,21:11 ISTBy metrovaartha AAA

Thiruvananthapuram | Department related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests today noted that the success achieved in Mars Orbiter Mission has enabled India enter the select league of nations which have expertise in this field.
The panel led by its Chairman Ashwini Kumar visited Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and ISRO’s Inertial Sytems Unit (IISU) here. The successful launch of the Mars Orbiter has not only made the country proud, but also enabled the Department of Space to carve a niche for itself in the field of space science in the comity of nations, he said.
The success achieved in Mars Orbiter Mission has enabled India enter the select league of nations which have expertise in this field. The icing on the cake is the comparatively low cost at which success has been achieved by ISRO at its very first attempt. The Committee congratulated all scientists and others associated with the mission and offered their best wishes for future endeavours.
The Committee felt that present day science demands close collaboration among various streams of science instead of stand-alone approach to Research and Development. Kumar urged scientists to bring out problems, if any, faced by them in terms of budget and manpower required for ongoing programmes, so that the panel could take them up with the Government. M C Dathan, Director, VSSC, briefed the Committee about ongoing activities and major milestones in the Space arena.
The Committee visited the major facilities of VSSC and the Control Centre at TERLS, Thumba. The members of the panel also visited the Space Museum and the ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU), Vattiyoorkkavu. P P Mohanlal, Director, made a presentation on IISU’s activities covering both Launch Vehicle and Spacecraft areas on Inertial Sensors.
The Committee will be visiting Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) and Indian Institute of Space Technology (IIST) of ISRO tomorrow.